Spray shower assembly



lApril`28, 1959 A. E. BRouGHToN 2,884,203

sPAY SHOWER ASSEMBLY Fi'led April 8, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 1 5 AN y @wwwVw YW M44 H W/ 4 A eA vpril 28, 1959 A. E. BRoUGHToN 2,884,203

. SPRAY SHOWER ASSEMBLY Filed April e, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent O 2,ss4,zo3 SPRAY sHowER ASSEMBLY Arthur E. Broughton,Glens Falls, N .Y., assignor to Frances J. Broughton, Glens Falls, andDouglas H. Newcomb, Hudson Falls, N.Y., as trustees Application April 8,1957, Serial No. 651,243

Claims. (Cl. 239-116) This invention relates generally to spray showersand more particularly to a shower assembly for water containing solidparticles and including a cleaning mechanism for the nozzles and acompact control valve for reversing the flow through said shower toactuate said cleaning mechanism.

It has long been a problem to use Water containing solids such as whitewater from paper making machines in spray showers since the solidparticles such as the paper pulp carried by the water clog the nozzlesof the shower. It is, however, oftendesirable to use this water in orderto avoid wasting the same as well as the solids contained therein. Whenthis water is merely disposed of cold water must be added by the showersto the paper machine system which requires supplying ndditional heat tothe paper pulp to maintain the desired temperature thereof. While theshower assembly disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No.413,197, now Patent Number 2,829,005, filed March l, 1954, as acontinuation in part of my prior invention Serial No. 202,789, nowabandoned, led December 26, 1950, discloses a satisfactory shower forWater containing solids such as white water, I have found that thisshower assembly produces a substantial head loss in the water flo-wingtherethrough by requiring abrupt changes in the direction of iiow ofsaid water, and I have also found that my prior assembly requiredexcessive lateral space which prevents installation on many shower unitswhere only limited lateral space is available.

It is, therefore, an object of my present invention to provide a sprayshower having compact and eicient means for cleaning the nozzles thereofto permit the use of water which contains particles of solidy materialin suspension therein.

It is also a specific object of my present invention to provide a showerparticularly adapted for use with white water in paper making machineswherein the entire assembly is constructed to require only slightly morelateral space than is required by a conventional shower tube per se andwhich is specifically designed to minimize the head loss of the watersupplied to the nozzles thereof.

More specifically it is an object to provide a white water shower with acleaning mechanism and a control valve axially aligned with the showertube for reversing the direction of flow through said shower to actuatesaid cleaning mechanism and maintain the spray nozzles of the shower ina clean unobstructed condition for efcient operation thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from thefollowing description, made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame 2,884,203 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 "ice Fig. 2 is a front elevationalview of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the structure shown in Figs. l and2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded longitudinal horizontal sectional view of thevalve casing and valve plug with said plug oriented in its normalspraying position;

Fig. 5 is an exploded longitudinal vertical sectional view of the valvecasing and valve plug with said plug shown in the same oriented relationas in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view illustrating the valvein assembled position yand showing the plug oriented in its rotatedreversing position;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional View takensubstantially along the line 7-7 of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the valve casing per se;

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical'sectional view of the plug member per setaken substantially along the line 9 9 of Fig. 5 and showing said plugin its normal operative position as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 by fulllines and in its rotated position by dotted lines; and

Fig. 10 is a transverse vertical sectional view of said plug member perse taken substantially along the line 11)*10 of Fig.` 5 and showing saidplug member in its normal position by full lines and its rotatedreversing position by dotted lines.

A specic embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein I show a white Water shower assembly for a paper makingmachine and having a shower tube 10 made from any suitable corrosionresisting material such as stainless steel or the like and including aplurality of spaced spray nozzles 11 in the bottom thereof. These spraynozzles may be of any spuitable design wherein the inside surface of theshower tube 10 is maintained substantially smooth and unobstructed suchas the nozzles disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Patent No. 2,665,946,issued January 12, 1954. A bypass or reversing conduit 12 is disposed inclose side by side parallel relation to the shower tube 10 andcommunicates with said shower tube by means of a suitable connectionmember such as the casting 13 provided at one end thereof and the valveassembly including a housing or casting member 14 provided at the otherend thereof.

In relatively long shower assemblies it is apparent that the centerportions of the tubes or conduits 10 and 12 will tend to sag due to theweight thereof. It is, therefore, important that suicient support beprovided to prevent such sagging. I have solved this problem with mypresent shower assembly by providing a tension type reinforcing trusswherein the ends of a pair of tension members 15 are securely anchoredto the respective castings 13 and 14 as by the mounting members andadjustment nuts 16. A double ring type bracket 17 surrounds both of saidtubes 10 and 12 and is securely anchored thereto as by being clampedtherearound as best shown in Fig. 7 and provides an anchor for the innerends of the members 15. In the form shown any suitable means fortensioning the two members 15 may be provided such as the nuts 16.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate my tapered plug type control valve which isspecifically designed to permit compact construction of the showerassembly and to reduce the head loss of the water flowing therethrough.The inside of the casing or housing member 14 has a tapered valvechamber formed therein and a cooperatively tapered valve plug memberdesignated as an entirety by the numeral 18 is rotatably received withinthe chamber in sealingly engaged Wall to wall relation. This valve plug18 has a hollow inner chamber providing an inner section with a pair of`openings or ports 18a and 18b formed in the side Wall `thereof and aclosed outer end thereof. These ports are disposed in the form shown in90 circumferentially spaced apart relation. The hollow valve chamberwith which said ports communicate is designated by the referencecharacter 18e and is cylindrical in shape and has the same insidediameter as the inside diameter of the shower tube 10. The inner endportion of the valve plug 18 1s machined out to receive the end portionof the shower tube as best shown in Fig. 6 to form a smooth continuationof the cylindrical inside surface of said tube for purposes to bebrought out hereafter. The outer section of the valve plug 18 has a cutout portion defining a control passage 18d which extends around thecircumference of said plug member for a distance of more than 90 andless than 180 as best shown in Fig. 9.

The valve housing 14 has a pair of elongated generally longitudinallydisposed communication passages formed on the outside thereof andrespectively designated by the reference characters 14a and 14b. Thevalve plug 18 divides the valve chamber of the housing 14 into an innersection and an outer section, since `the outside tapered surface of thevalve plug sealingly engages the inside cooperatively tapered wallsurface of the housing chamber. The outer section of the chambercommunicates with the passages 14a and 14b, respectively, through thecontrol ports 14C and 14d and the inner section communicates withpassages 14a and 14h, respectively, through the ports 14g and 14h. Apair of conduit connection openings 14e and 14j are respectively alignedwith the ports 14g and 14h and respectively communicate directlytherewith across the inner end of passages 14a and 14b. The ports 14gand 14h are of sufficient size to permit unrestricted flow of the watertherethrough into said shower tube 10. I have found that providing anarea of approximately 25% greater than the cross sectional area of thesupply conduit works very eiciently in preventing head loss through saidports 14g and 14h. Also, the direct alignment of said ports with therespective conduit connection openings 14e and 141 eliminates any changeof direction in the water flow into said shower tube 10. It is apparentthat either the opening 14e or the opening 14f may form the inletopening by connection with a supply conduit and the other forming theoutlet opening. In the installation illustrated the opening 14,1c isshown as the inlet opening and is connected to the supply conduit 30,and the opening 14e is the discharge or drain opening. It should benoted that for purposes to be brought out hereafter a conduit 31 ofsubstantially reduced size restricts the flow through the drain opening.As best shown in Fig. 8 the housing 14 has a bypass port 14k formedtherein which affords communication between the reversing conduit 12 andthe outer section of the valve chamber. The ports 14C, 14d and 14k,formed in the outer section of the housing chamber are circumferentiallyspaced apart 90 in the form of the invention illustrated. These outerports are in substantial circumferential alignment to permit selectiveinterconnection thereof by the cut out passage 18d formed in the outersection of valve plug 18 and the inner ports 14g and 1411 are insubstantial circumferential alignment to permit selective registrationwith the two valve control ports 18a and 18!) formed at the inner hollowcylindrical section of valve plug 18. In Figs. 4, 5, 9 and 10 the valveplug 18 is shown in normal operative position where the water suppliedto the shower tube ows directly into the hollow valve chamber 18C andfrom there into the orificed shower tube 10. During normal operation ofthe shower which discharges a cleaning spray from the nozzles thereof asillustrated in Fig. 2, vthe cleaning mechanism consisting in a cleaningand sealing piston 20 is, of course, disposed at the end of the showertube remote from the control valve. The piston 20 has in the form showna pair of cleaning and sealing rings 21 mounted around the circumferencethereof for resiliently engaging the inside wall of the shower tube 10.I have found that stainless steel rings provide the most efficientresults for the cleaning operation, and any leakage therearound isprevented by an accumulation of the solid particles carried by the waterso that an effective seal is formed by the ringed piston at the end ofthe shower tube to prevent head loss on the water being supplied to thespray nozzles. A pair of longitudinally extending connecting rods `22are securely fixed to the piston 20 axially thereof and connect saidpiston to a pair of spaced apart stabilizing and cushioning plungers 23of slightly smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the showertube. The cushioning operation of these plungers 23 will be describedhereafter. It will be seen from the operative position of the piston 20and plunger 23 in Fig. 1

that said plunger will provide suitable stop means for preventing thepiston from traveling beyond the opening 13a in the casting 13 in orderto permit actuation of the cleaning piston to force the same back to thevalve end of the shower tube 10 by reversing the direction of flowthrough said shower tube as will hereinafter be described.

A pair of generally helical brush segments 22a are mounted on each sideof the piston 20 and are held against longitudinal shifting movementbetween a pair of collars 22b and said piston 20. I have found thatnylon bristles work very efficiently for this purpose.

Figs. 4, 5, 9 and 10 show the valve plug in normal operative positionwherein the valve plug port 18b is registered with housing port 14h topermit flow directly into the valve end of the shower tube throughcylindrical chamber 18C. With the valve port 18b registered with theinlet opening 14f directly through port 14h there is only a minimum ofdirectional change of the water flowing into the shower tube andtherefore a minimum of head loss of the water being supplied to thenozzles. In this position of the valve the port 14g is, of course,closed by an imperforate wall portion of the inner plug section and theport 14d is closed by an imperforate portion of the outer section ofvalve plug 18. The outer valve control passage 18d in this position ofsaid valve plug interconnects by-pass port 14k and 14C as best shown bythe full line position of Fig. 9 and the end elevational view of thehousing as shown in Fig. 8. This, of course, affords communicationbetween the by-pass conduit 12 and the drain conduit 31 throughlongitudinal passage 14a. In order to reverse the flow through theshower tube for cleaning purposes the valve plug is rotated through Asviewed in Fig. 3 this rotation is in a counterclockwise direction andswings the outer control passage 18d up into the dotted line positionyshown in Fig. 9 to interconnect port 14k with port 14d and to close offport 14C. The inner valve section is rotated into the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 10 which brings the port 18a into registrationwith the port 14g and closes off port 14h by swinging port 18b out ofregistration therewith. Thus the water flowing in through conduit 30 andconduit connection opening 14f is carried outwardly through passage 14band into by-pass conduit 12 through port 14d, control passage 18d, andport 14k. This, of course, applies the water pressure to the remote sideof the piston 20 through opening 13a and forces the cleaning pistonassembly down toward the valve end of the shower tube. The substantiallysolid stainless steel rings provide positive cleaning and breaking offof any `solid particles caught in the shower tube orices and carry anysolids removed from said orifices down to the valve end of the tube todischarge the same through the ports 18a and 14g and directly across thepassage 14a into the restricted drain conduit 31. It will be noted thatthe cylindrical chamber 18e extends outwardly a substantial distancebeyond the ports 18a and 18b thus forming a closed end cushioningsegment into which the cushioning plunger 23 will move. The cushioningplunger 23 is only slightly smaller than the diameter of saidcylindrical segment and therefore restricts the flow of watertherearound to provide the desired braking action at the valve Aend ofthe cleaning stroke to prevent damaging impact of the cleaning assemblyagainst the abutment provided therefor. The piston is then reversed andcarried back to the normal sealing position thereof by shifting thevalve plug 18 back to its normal position wherein ports 14h and 18b arein registration and ports 14e and 15k are interconnected and ports 14dand 14g are closed. During the movement of the piston back to the remoteend of the shower tube the water in the shower tube is forced outthrough opening 13a and back through by-pass conduit 12 to drain conduit31 through ports 14k, 14C, passage 14a and opening 14e. Any residueremoved on the return stroke of the piston is, of course, carried outthrough the drain conduit 31. As the piston approaches the end of thisreturn conduit the other plunger 23 travels beyond opening 13a and into`a generally cylindrical cushioning segment formed in the casting 13which is similar to the cushioning segment described at the outer end ofchamber 18e. This plunger 23 thus gradually brakes the piston at the endof its return stroke and forms a ypositive stop for positioning the samebetween the opening 13a and openings 18a and 18b in the valve plug 18.By providing the reduced drain conduit 31 sufficient pressure ismaintained on the drain side of the piston to maintain the cushioning ofsegments full of water at all times in order to permit etlicientoperation of the cushioning plungers 23 as they travel into saidrespective segments at the ends of the strokes thereof. Obviously,highly eilicient normal operation of the shower is obtained bypermitting the supply water to ow unrestricted directly into the valveend of the shower tube 10.

Obviously, suitable means must be provided for sealing the ends of thecastings 13 and 14 such as the closure cap 24 sealingly connected to theouter end of casting 13 as by suitable cap screws and O-ring 25 whichsurrounds the extreme outer marginal edge portion of the valve plugmember 18. A retaining collar 26 suitably anchored to the outer end ofcasting 14 as by cap screws positively holds the valve plug member 18with its tapered surface in sealed engagement within the valve chamberof housing 14 and this collar has suitable stop means for positioningthe valve plug member 18 in its two selected positions. A 90 segmentalportion 26a with abutment stops at the ends thereof receives a stop pin27 xed in the end of valve plug 18. In order to prevent the valve plugmember from being inserted in an improper position within the casing,one of the cap screws of the retaining collar is of a different diameterthan the others so that said collar will always be oriented in theproper manner when attached to the valve casing 14. Suitable means forturning the valve plug 18 may be provided such as the lever 28 as bestshown in Fig. 3 which extends through a suitable passage 29a formedthrough an axially disposed central hub 29 of the valve plug member 18.

It will be seen that I have provided a relatively simple yet highlyeicient and compact shower assembly particularly designed for showersusing water containing solids such as white water showers in papermaking machines. This invention greatly facilitates the use of suchwater carrying solid particles by providing a highly efcient cleaningmechanism without materially increasing the space required forconventional showers. By permitting the use of white water for showersin paper making machines considerable economic savings are produced. Thehead loss by adding clear filtered water through the shower sprays isentirely eliminated. Also it is obvious that any water added to thesystem at any point must be removed in the paper manufacturing process.Thus if this water added through the shower carries with it a percentageof paper pulp the amount of actual water to be removed is thus reduced.The use of white water also, of course, produces a material saving int-he water being used as well as a saving of the valuable paper pulppreviously disposed of with the waste white water.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes 6. may bemade inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention which consists of the mattershown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A shower assembly comprising an elongated shower tube having aplurality of spaced discharge orifices therein, a cleaning and sealingpiston assembly working in longitudinally slidable relation within saidtube and provided with means for engaging the inside wall surface of thetube, a by-pass tube connected at its respective end portions to the endportions of the shower tube, a control valve assembly having a supplyinlet and a discharge outlet and including a controllable valve plugmember arranged generally axially of one of said tubes and mounted inthe one end thereof for rotation about the longitudinal axis of saidtube and provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced openingfor reversing the ow through said tubes to move said piston from one endof the shower tube to the other end to removethe solid foreign materialfrom the tube orifices and carry the same out through the dischargeoutlet. l

2. The structure set forth in claim l wherein the control valve androtatable valve member thereof are disposed axially of the shower tubeadjacent one end thereof.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2 and said rotatable valve memberhaving a hollow generally cylindrical chamber formed at the inner endportion thereof to form a continuation of the inside of the shower tubeand permit a portion of the cleaning piston assembly to travel into saidchamber.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3 and said cylindrical chamberhaving a pair of valve ports formed through the side wall thereof incircumferentially spaced apart relation and said chamber extendingoutwardly beyond said ports to provide a closed-end plunger receivingsection, and said cleaning piston being provided with a cushioningplunger disposed in longitudinally spaced relation thereto and being ofa size only slightly smaller than the inside diameter of said cushioningplunger receiving section of said chamber to restrict the ow of wateraround said plunger as said plunger approaches the end of its strokeinto said chamber to cushion the end of the plunger stroke.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 and a similar cushioning plungerspaced longitudinally on the other side of said piston and meansdefining a generally cylindrical closed end cushioning segment disposedremotely of the communication opening between the tubes at the endsthereof remote from said valve to restrict the ow of water around saidsecond plunger and thereby cushion the other end of said piston stroke.

6. In combination with an oriced shower tube, a reciprocating pistonassembly working in said tube and including a cleaning and sealingpiston with peripheral portions disposed in close fitting relationwithin said tube, means closing the ends of said tube, said tube havingflow openings in inwardly spaced relation from said tube ends to providegenerally cylindrical cushioning segments at the ends of said tubeoutwardly of said openings, a pair of cushioning plungers of slightlysmaller diameter than the inside diameter of said cushioning segmentsand longitudinally spaced from said piston on both sides thereof to berespectively received in said cylindrical segments at the ends of thereciprocating strokes of said piston through the tube, means forreversing the direction of ilow of water through said tube to cause saidpiston to be reciprocated from one end thereof to the other.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6 and said ow reversing meansincluding a valve assembly having a rotatably mounted control valvemember disposed generally axially of said shower tube and forming theend closure of said tube at one end thereof including said cylindricalcushioning segment.

8. An orificed shower particularly designed for use with watercontaining solids and including a mechanism for cleaning the showerorifices, said shower comprising an oriced shower tube, means definingan opening at one end of said tube, a cleaning and sealing pistonslidably mounted within said tube for reciprocation in response to theow of water through the tube, a valve assembly axially mounted withrespect to said tube and including a plug member having a cylindricalsegment forming a continuation of said tube, said cylindrical portionbeing rotatable and including a plurality of control ports therethrough,a by-pass circuit affording communication between the ends of said tubeand connected with said valve to permit reversing of the flow of thewater through said tube to cause reciprocation of said piston from oneend thereof to the other, said piston forming a seal at the respectiveends of its structure to permit maintaining of the desired pressure insaid shower tube during normal operation thereof.

9. The structure set forth in claim 8 and said piston having a pair of`brush units mounted on each side thereof to assist in cleaning theinside of said orifice tube.

10. An orificed shower particularly designed for use with watercontaining solids and including a mechanism for cleaning the showerorices, said shower comprising an oriced shower tube, a valve housing atone end of said tube and dening a plug receiving chamber communicatingin sealed relation with said tube, a valve plug member rotatably mountedin said chamber and defining an axially disposed passage in the endportion thereof adjacent said shower tube, a cleaning and sealing pistonassembly mounted for reciprocation in said shower tube in response towater owing therethrough, said plug member having a plurality of owcontrol openings formed therein and flow confining apparatuscooperatively associated with said valve and said shower tube to permitthe direction of flow of water through said shower tube to be reversed.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

